Charging bucket



Jan." 4, 1944. .1. a. BAKER CHARGING BUCKET Filed Aug. 19, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 CHARGING BUCKET Filed Aug. 19, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 X5 ////0 Ila-3i INVENTOR. J @L @afiw,

Patented Jan. 4, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARGING BUCKET James B. Baker, Warren, Ohio Application August 19, 1943, Serial No. 499,279

4 Claims.

edly mounted on the external wall of the bucket and operative to move to closed position or to gradually open for discharging the contents of the bucket; and the invention furthermore ineludes means for holding the sections of the bottom closed and for releasing the holding means to permit sections of the bottom to open under the influence of gravity and the weight of the load of the bucket; means being also provided whereby the sections of the bottom are automatically closed again after they are freed from the load or after the load has been discharged as indicated.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a manually controlled means for regulating the movement of the sections of the bottom of the bucket, the said means consisting of a friction brake which is manually operated to modify the friction and the action of the brake.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a bucket with a sectional bottom, the hinges of which sustain the greater part of the load in the bucket so that the cable and the sheaves will not be unduly strained or Worn when in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a view of the bucket in side elevation;

Figure 2 illustrates a bottom plan view of the bucket;

Figure 3 illustrates a sectional view showing a fragment of the bucket and a segment of the bottom with the said segment in open position, taken more particularly on the line 3-3 of Fig. l; nd

Figure 4 illustrates a similar view showing the segments constituting the bottom of the bucket, in completely closed position.

In these drawings 5 denotes the cylindrical bucket having hinge brackets 6 on the external surface thereof, preferably spaced from the lower edge of the bucket, and the segmental bottom sections 1 of the bucket each has angularly disposed arms 8 Which are pivoted as at 9 to the brackets. The brackets and arms are preferably arranged in pairs on each segment of the bottom although, under some conditions, one such bracket and arm for each segment may suffice,

so that the inventor does not wish to be limited with respect to this feature of the invention.

Each of the segments of the bottom has a sheave pulley Ill rotatably mounted on it and each of the sheave pulleys is engaged by a cable I I, which cable operates over the sheave pulleys so that when the ends #2 and I3 of the cable are wound on a drum M, the segmental bottom sections will be drawn together into a closing position for forming the bottom of the bucket. It is shown furthermore that the cable operates around guiding sheaves l5 and I6 rotatably mounted on one of the segmental sections, and it is also shown that the ends of the cable ll operate on pulleys Ila rotatably mounted on said segment of the bottom of the bucket.

The drum i4 is rotatably mounted on a bracket l1 located on the external surface of the bucket at the top thereof, and this drum is controlled by a friction band l8 having one end anchored, as at l9, to the bracket and the other end pivoted to a lever 20 mounted on a pivot 2|. The handle 22 of the lever is under the influence of a spring 23 which normally tensions to hold the brake band in engagement with the drum with sufiicient force to create a braking action which will hold the bottom closed when the bucket is loaded. An operator may therefore manipulate the handle of the lever by pulling the hand line 24 to release the brake gradually or entirely, according to the action desired when the bucket is to be dumped.

The drum is connected to a spring of the internal clock type which is set at a proper tension for rewinding and closing the bucket after dumping, although it would be practical to use a small reversible electric motor to perform this same function.

I claim:

1. A charging bucket having a bottom comprising segmental sections shaped to form the bottom of the bucket, means for hingedly mounting the outer ends of the sections to the bucket, guides on the outer surfaces of the sections, a cable threaded around said guides, a rotating member on which the cable is wound, adjustable means for holding the rotating member in different positions of adjustment, and power means for turning the rotating member to wind the cable thereon.

2. A charging bucket consisting of a hollow body, a segmental bottom for the bucket, brackets on the outer surface of the body near the lower end thereof, arms on the segments of the bottom hingedly connected to the brackets, a guiding wheel mounted on the outer surface of each of the segments, two of said guiding wheels being mounted on one of the segments, a cable doubled on itself and having its looped portions engaging the peripheries of the wheels with parallel portions of the cable engaging the two wheels on one of the segments, a rotatable drum on which the ends of the cable are wound, power driving means for rotating the drum, and a brake for holding the drum in different positions of adjustment.

3. A charging bucket consisting of a hollow body, a segmental bottom for the bucket, brackets on the outer surface of the body near the lower end thereof, arms on the segments of the bottom hingedly connected to the brackets, a guiding wheel mounted on the outer surface of each of the segments, two of said guiding wheels being'mounted on one of the said segments, a cable doubled on itself and having its looped portions engaging the peripheries of the wheels with parallel portions of the cable engaging the two Wheels on one of the segments, a rotatable drum on which the ends of the cable are wound, power driving means for rotating the drum, a brake for holding the drum in different positions of adjustment, guiding means for the cable at the sides of the two wheels on the one segment, and guiding wheels for the parallel portions of the cable 1eading to the winding drum.

4. A charging bucket consisting of a hollow body, a segmental bottom for the bucket, brackets on the outer surface of the body near the lower end thereof, arms on the segments of the bottom hingedly connected to the brackets, a guiding wheel mounted on the outer surface of each of the segments, two of said guiding wheels being mounted on one of the segments, a cable doubled on itself and having its looped portions engaging the peripheries of the wheels with parallel portions of the cable engaging the two wheels on one of the segments, a. rotatable drum on which the ends of the cable are wound, a brake band embracing a part of the drum and having one of its ends anchored with relation to the bucket, a pivotally mounted lever to which the other end of the brake band is connected, a spring connected to the lever and operative to exert a pull on the lever to draw the brake band into engagement with the drum to hold the drum when the cable is wound thereon to close the bottom of the bucket, the said lever being operated to release the pull of the spring for releasing the bottom of the bucket, and power driving means for rotating the drum.

JAMES B. BAKER. 

